Telluride Takes Synchronized Skiing and Riding to a New Level

Did you know that skiing and snowboarding can be team sports? And what a beautiful site it is to see skiers and snowboarders coming down the hill in synchronized formation. 

That’s what happened last week at the Telluride World Synchro Championship, an event that has taken place at various ski resorts in North America for decades. Aspen hosted this event for nearly twenty years. And for the first time this synchronized championship found its home in Telluride. Thanks to the support and hard work from Telluride Ski Resort, Tim Williams, the director of Telluride Ski & Snowboard School, the participants of the synchronized ski and snowboard teams and many many more. The coaches, including Sarah (Sem) Walls, Rogan O’Herily, Neville Leel and Frankie Zampini also deserve major kudos. All spent long hours practicing on the slopes before the lifts started turning for the public throughout the season. The result was that his event was a big success and a fun addition to the animation found on the mountain.

It was a first to be hosted by Telluride, however, the Telluride Synchronized Ski Team has been around since the eighties. Telluride ski legends such as Annie Vareille Savath, Doug Morrison and Marty Wilcox helped to launch this nonprofit back in the day in an effort to make sure that Telluride’s finest ski instructors could compete in various elite events alongside talented ski professionals from Vail, Whistler and other resorts. The origins of it lie in the desire to demonstrate what ski instructors are capable of doing on the mountain. And that’s still the case today.

Sure, you can see lots of ski performance from instructors just by observing them on the mountain. But synchronized ski competitions take that skill to a different level. In addition to the choreographed presentations that dazzle onlookers lucky enough to take in these events, there’s also individual competitions in the moguls and on the racecourse. 

I had the opportunity to do two different interviews on this subject on my Travel Fun radio show on KOTO. The first took place a few days before the competition and featured team captains and participants John Balmain (Ghostriders), Mike Griswold and Reid Schlack (Benders), Emma Johnson (Tempters), Rose Nadelhoffer (San Juan Sundancers), and Anna Sebree (Palmyra Prowlers).

You can listen to this interview through Thursday, April 11 on Spinitron.

The Telluride Ghostriders, an all-male team that has existed for quite some time, snagged first place in this year’s Telluride World Synchronized Ski Championships.

The Telluride Tempters, an all-female team in their second year, placed second.

And the Aspen Divas, an all-female team from Aspen, that has always garnered much attention, came in third.

The Telluride Benders, an all-male team dressed in black (with uniforms borrowed from the lifties) created quite the stir. So did the Palmyra Prowlers, the male and female riders that showed that snowboards can do fancy turns in sync as well. Special mention goest to the San Juan Sundancers, an all-female team of first-year Telluride ski instructors that gave a very strong showing.

Woo-hoo! Those fortunate to have viewed the presentations that took place on Comp Hill (and also Hermit for the bumps and the Nastar course for the racing) were indeed entertained and impressed.

I did a wrap up Travel Fun interview with Frankie Zampini and Logan Lanier, members of the Telluride Ghostriders and two of the driving forces behind the Telluride Synchronized Ski Team organization. That interview will air Thursday, April 11 at 6:30pm MST at KOTO.org. I will also be putting up that link within a few days after airing.

In this chat, Frankie and Logan further talked about the event, the organization and what’s in the works for next year. Whether you’re a skier, a rider or just a lover of athletic prowess and competition, these interviews will have you looking at snowsports differently.

So what’s next? I say synchronized skiing and riding should become an olympic sport. What do you think?

In the meantime, mark your calendars for the end of the season next year to take in this exciting two-day event to be held once again in Telluride. (The actual days will be announced at a later date.)  

For a glimpse at synchronized skiing, check out the video posted by the Telluride Ski Resort on Instagram. I promise you’ll be hooked.